“Did you just say that?”
Eugene wanted to ask the Emperor, but the experience of living through more than a hundred years in Se-won warned him not to. The Emperor probably wouldn’t understand, and arguing with him would only make things more troublesome.
‘Is it the nature of the relic?’
He clearly heard a voice asking who it was. Judging by its low, deep tone, it was completely different from the Emperor’s voice present in this room.
‘Is there something inside the relic?’
He took out the dagger from the box and examined it closely. Strange symbols, untraceable in origin, were engraved across the entire blade, and the places where jewels should have been embedded were empty, as if the gems had once adorned it.
‘Could it really be a relic with a consciousness?’
In the last hundred years of traveling the world, he had never seen such a relic. Similar objects were evil magic swords sealed with something inside, but those had an external conscious entity forced into them.
“What the hell did that bastard Emperor give me?”
He had bought an apple, but it felt like getting one infested with worms. At this rate, their deal just didn’t add up. He thought about throwing the dagger away out of frustration, but—
‘No.’
If it was a sealed object, it was even more reckless to discard it. Dangerous items were meant to be handled by someone who could survive anything. Some might scoff, saying what kind of hero complex this was, given he cared about profit and loss, but—
‘I am the companion of the hero.’
And if it were the hero, they would have insisted on taking it themselves. He planned to keep it as a tribute to their memories. After all, he was going to visit the hero’s grave for memorial prayers soon, and doing a good deed would be fitting.
‘That way, I’ll have the face to see the tombstone’s owner.’
The Emperor tilted his head, perhaps noticing the silence lasted longer than expected.
“Eugene? Is something wrong?”
“No. I was just taking a moment to consider how to use it going forward.”
He hid the truth and forcibly shoved the dagger back into its sheath.
[Ugh! What are you doing!?]
‘Noisy little thing.’
He decided to go somewhere secluded and interrogate the presence inside the dagger.
“Where should I go?”
“If you go out that way, you’ll return to the place you were originally.”
Walking toward the direction the Emperor pointed, a shimmering distortion like heat haze appeared before his eyes. It was a typical sign of a portal created by spatial magic.
“Once you’re ready, send someone to the Mercenary Guild.”
With that said, he stepped into the portal, and the slums leading to the Electric Market spread out before him again. Judging by the orange-tinged sky, it would be dark by the time he reached the National Cemetery.
“Damn it.”
He had lost too much time because of that seventy-year-old brat. He practically ran through the slums to reach the riverside, where shops lit lanterns as if preparing for a night market.
‘It’s going to get noisy.’
Before the chaos started, he went to find the items to bring to the tombstone. The first stop was an outdoor bar stacking barrels of liquor. There was no way they wouldn’t have the alcohol he was looking for.
“Business?”
As he approached, a burly man who looked like the owner put down a barrel and asked.
“Not yet. What brings you here?”
His tone was rude—what a brat.
“I want to buy one bottle of Zwerggebiet beer and one bottle of Rosaria wine.”
“Beer from the Dwarven Mountains and unused wine from Rosaria? That’s quite the combination.”
Whether the combination was good or not was none of Eugene’s concern. One was an offering for the dwarves, and the other was for the saint. He was too tired from his conversation with the Emperor to argue and just nodded.
“That combination hasn’t sold well lately, so I wonder if there’s any left…”
The bar owner grumbled as he walked among the barrels and wooden crates. No merchant would refuse someone willing to pay. Soon, he appeared with one bottle in each hand.
“Just one of each left. Got the money?”
Eugene handed over the money as he received the paper bag holding the liquor.
“Here.”
“Ugh!?”
He didn’t bother with change, giving two silver coins instead. With that much, he could buy the best whiskey in the bar. The owner took the money and disappeared before giving back any change.
‘Next is the flower shop.’
Unlike the dwarves or the saint, the hero didn’t like alcohol. Instead, he grew wildflowers from his homeland in his later years. A bouquet of flowers was the perfect offering for him.
‘There’s a flower shop over there.’
He spotted a makeshift flower shop with potted plants gathered under a tent. Wildflowers from the Gerade region had become popular ever since the hero was revered as their patron saint. Since the festival was coming up, such shops would surely sell the hero’s favorite wildflowers from his homeland.
“Hello, customer! What can I help you with?”
A young woman who looked to be the flower shop owner greeted him warmly. Unlike the bar owner, flower shops needed to actively attract customers, so her kindness stood in contrast.
“One bouquet of lanflower from the Gerade region, please.”
The flower the hero loved was called lanflower in his honor.
“Oh, are you buying flowers for the hero? How many would you like?”
“Hmm.”
He just wanted her to tie up a bouquet, so he wondered why she asked. After some thought—and since it was the 100th anniversary of the Demon King’s defeat—he replied,
“Ten flowers, please.”
“Certainly, sir!”
Just as the flower shop owner turned to prepare the lanflower bouquet—
“Huh? Sir?”
“Hm?”
Why did he hear that voice? No, why was it coming from here at such a late hour?
Turning his head toward the familiar voice, sure enough,
“We meet again! Hehe…”
A girl with short blonde hair and sapphire-tinted eyes appeared. He was already buying flowers for the hero, so meeting her again made the hero’s traces on her face seem even stronger.
Eugene, what are you dreaming of after this adventure?
And her voice echoed.
“Ian?”
“Yes?”
The hero’s name slipped out unintentionally, and the girl blinked in surprise.
“Ah, what are you doing! It hasn’t been long since I told you my name…”
“Was it Alice?”
“It’s Emilia!”
Well, whether Emilia or Alicia—he cleared his mind and cleared his throat roughly, then tried to change the subject by asking Emilia a question.
“But why are you here at this hour?”
“Me? I came to buy flowers.”
“Who doesn’t know that, you little brat?”
Why would she be in a market full of rough people at this late hour?
Tsk!
Since she said nonsense, she deserved a flick on the forehead.
“Ow! Stop it!”
“You talk nonsense.”
“Ugh…”
He said sternly as he gently rubbed her head.
“Did you get permission to go out from the dorm? Don’t you know it’s dangerous to be out alone so late?”
There’s always a risk of street crime in any city, but the Empire’s capital was one of the largest metropolises on the continent. It was easy to get lost or disappear in a city five times the size of typical large cities combined.
“No, why are you saying that? My dad doesn’t even say things like that.”
“I’m only saying it because I’m worried.”
She refused to admit she had done something dangerous. She didn’t answer whether she had dorm permission, so she must have been roaming around on her own.
Snap!
Since she deserved to be scolded, she got another flick.
“Ow! You’re the one being dangerous right now!”
“I’m only doing this because it’s me.”
Damn, he really felt uneasy leaving her alone. At the very least, he wanted to walk her back to the school gates. For now, he decided to take her to the National Cemetery for the sake of education.
‘Maybe if I tell the guard there, they’ll arrange a carriage back to the dorm.’
Even if he told her to go back and left her alone, knowing her personality, she’d probably ignore it and wander around again. The thought of a girl who resembled the hero getting harmed on the street made him—
“That’d be awful.”
It would only ruin his mood.
“Have you eaten?”
Since she kept getting scolded, Emilia answered sluggishly.
“I ate a while ago.”
“At your age, you need a proper meal to grow.”
At that, Emilia smirked, amused.
“What, are you trying to hit on me now?”
“Want another hit?”
This really made him look like the strange one. She might not know, but he had been married once. Though due to the difference in lifespan, he had lost his wife. When he raised his fist, Emilia hurriedly covered her head with both hands.
“No, you hit me whenever you get the chance! Were you always like this?”
“Mercenaries are usually bad-tempered, didn’t you know?”
“Customer! Your flowers are ready!”
Just then, the flower shop owner returned with a bouquet. Probably because of the festival, the wrapping was quite elaborate. As he was about to leave, Emilia spoke to the owner.
“I want a bouquet of the same flowers too!”
“Huh?”
Why was she suddenly buying lanflowers? She handed some coins to the owner. While the flower shop owner prepared the bouquet, he asked the girl.
“Why?”
“None of your business.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Why Emilia wanted flowers was up to her, and that wasn’t something he could argue about. He waited awkwardly as Emilia received the bouquet.
“Where to now?”
Even though she asked, it seemed she agreed to go along. Today’s schedule ended with memorial prayers at the Empire National Cemetery,so he just needed to accompany her there and send her back to the dorm.
“The National Cemetery.”
“Really?”
Emilia’s surprised expression suggested she was shocked that this old man was going to the National Cemetery, or maybe she happened to have business there too.
“I’m going to the National Cemetery too!”
That must have been it. Since their paths overlapped, that was fortunate. If they hadn’t, he would have had to take a roundabout way.
“Then let’s get going.”
Together, they left the flower shop, made their way through the Electric Market, and headed toward the National Cemetery. The scent of grilled meat hinted the night market was about to open.
Sniff sniff
“Hm?”
He turned at the strange sound, and Emilia was sniffing the air, following the aroma. Being young, she was naturally drawn to food smells.
“Are you hungry?”
“What!? No!”
Caught off guard, the girl quickly shook her head. Maybe she still had some pride as a lady. Still, at her age, it wasn’t strange to be tempted by food.
‘If I had a granddaughter, would this be what it felt like?’
Or maybe she inherited the family’s blunt, rough personality. Thinking about descendants made his heart ache a little. His wife had been infertile, so they had no children.
“There won’t be any restaurants on the way to the National Cemetery, so let’s grab a quick bite.”
“That’s fine…”
“I’m hungry.”
It was about time to fill their stomachs. He took Emilia to a food stall and bought grilled chicken skewers and pork intestine skewers.
“Mmm~! Delicious…!”
The girl bit into her chicken skewer and smiled happily. It felt like buying snacks for a granddaughter. He chewed on the pork intestine skewer, quelling his hunger. Before he knew it, they had reached the road leading directly to the National Cemetery.
“But, sir.”
“Hm?”
He turned to see Emilia looking at him.
“You’re really going to the National Cemetery?”
Why did she care so much?
“That’s none of your business.”
“Are you sulking because of what I said earlier?”
That cut right to the heart. He neither confirmed nor denied it. Her amusement at his silence made her giggle.
“Ah, what’s with you being petty.”
“Go ahead, laugh all you want.”
“I’m not laughing at you—I think you’re cute.”
“What?”
He’d heard he was handsome sometimes, but this was the first time a young girl called him cute. Her laughter faded, and Emilia returned to a calm expression.
“Are you really not going to tell me?”
“What reason do I have to?”
Why didn’t she speak first? If you want to know others’ business, you should start with your own. Her curiosity seemed to wane a little, but—
“Hmm, I trust you, so I’ll tell you first.”
‘Is she really going to say it?’
Surprised by the unexpected response, he kept a neutral expression. After all, even if she spoke, it wouldn’t be anything major. Emilia took a deep breath and began.
“… Actually, I’m going to see my great-grandfather.”
“A distinguished person, I suppose.”
During the Empire’s expansion from a kingdom, many wars had been fought, and many soldiers had died. It was said that five out of ten Empire citizens had at least one grandparent who was a war veteran.
“Of course!”
Emilia smiled with pride and a little shyness.
“It’s none other than the hero, Ian!”
Thanks for the chapter! Also, chapter 8 is missing.